You just had a productive week at work and want to treat yourself to a wonderful weekend of sightseeing, shopping and great food, what could be better than going to Mystic Connecticut. You don’t want to drive in the heavy holiday traffic so you book your fare on Amtrak with the destination being the Mystic Depot Train Station.
Next step, you’re going to need wheels when you get there, so you pick up your smartphone and log onto the Turo app and select and book your car, square away payment, and get a confirmation.
You board the train and you’re on your way, while in transit, the owner of your selected car messages you as to the car’s parked location adjacent to the train station, and what the combination is to the key lockbox.
The train arrives in Mystic, you step off the train and step onto your rental car and go on to have a wonderful weekend, easy peasy. There is no waiting in line and dealing with a rental clerk.
When the rental period is over, the car is returned to the approximate parking area and you step on the train for your ride home.
Welcome to Host-Based Car Renting
This is not fiction; it is now available at the Mystic Train Depot as well as at airports and train stations across the country.
As Austin S. visiting Mystic from LA describes, “It’s so easy grabbing the car from the train station and having the advantage of the lockbox.”
A Blend of Uber and Airbnb
The company that makes this all possible is Turo (www.turo.com). Think of it as the Airbnb of cars. Airbnb does not own any houses but is the market maker between thousands of homeowners and renters. Similarly, Turo is the market maker between car owners and renters that want a new, non-commercial, no hassle experience when renting a car.
Uber’s ridesharing success relies on the power of its phone app and location, and payment capabilities as does Turo. In contrast to Uber who provides a driver with each car rental, with Turo you are the driver and have use of the car during your entire stay for all that spontaneity.
Turo maintains stringent requirements as to the age, mileage and condition of the cars offered on their site. Periodic inspections are mandatory by qualified mechanics to assure safety. Any cars that don’t meet the grade are blocked from the site.
Each listed car on the site has full feature descriptions as well as up to twenty photos of the car both interior and exterior so there are no surprises.
Hosts That Care About Their Cars and Their Reputation
As with Amazon, Airbnb and now Turo, it’s the ability of customers to post reviews about their experience good or bad. There is a 5-star ranking system that makes it easy to spot the top performers from the mediocre. This ranking system is what keeps the gig economy honest.
Turo car owners, referred to as hosts, are fastidious about their reputation and keep their cars in immaculate condition, and bend over backwards to satisfy the renters.
When car rental shopping, customers can read the reviews posted by previous renters about each host before making a final selection.
A New Way To Rent a Car
If the legacy car rental agencies are not fearful now, they should be. With Turo the customer doesn’t just deal with an employee that is forced to enforce certain rental rules meant to upgrade and add income to each deal, but interacts with the owner of the car directly and of his or her business success. It makes for a totally more personalized experience.
So, spread the word, if you, your family or friends are travelling to Mystic and need a car rental, just launch the Turo app on your phone and book it in minutes.